the bell, found there the couple the sight of which caused his
heart to sink. Here they were, the house hunters--there was no
doubt of it in his mind. The man was short and broad and
protuberant and pompous. The woman possessed all the last three
qualities, besides being tall. He shone with prosperity and
sunburn, she reeked of riches and talcum. They were just the sort
of people who would insist upon hiring a house that was not in the
market; its not being in the market would, in their eyes, make it
all the more desirable.

Jed had seen them before, knew they were staying at the hotel and
that their names were Powless. He remembered now, with a thrill of
alarm, that Mr. Bearse had recently spoken of them as liking Orham
very much and considering getting a place of their own. And of
course Captain Sam, hearing this, had told them of the Winslow
place, had sent them to him. "Oh, Lord! Oh, Lord!" thought Jed,
although what he said was: "Good mornin'."

He might as well have said nothing. Mrs. Powless, looming large
between the piles of mills and vanes, like a battleship in a narrow
channel, was loftily inspecting the stock through her lorgnette.
Her husband, his walking stick under his arm and his hands in his
pockets, was not even making the pretense of being interested; he
was staring through the seaward window toward the yard and the old
house.

"These are really quite extraordinary," the lady announced, after a
moment. "George, you really should see these extraordinary
things."